Fukushima Watch: IAEA Starts 2nd Review of Decommissioning

The International Atomic Energy Agency has started its second review of decommissioning at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to check on progress and provide more information for the international community.

Mari Iwata/The Wall Street Journal

Carlos Lentijo, head of an International Atomic Energy Agency mission reviewing decommissioning at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, speaks at a press conference on Nov. 25.

The IAEA mission will pay special attention to the problem of contaminated water at the plant and the removal of fuel from the No. 4 reactor building, said Juan Carlos Lentijo, the head of the mission, at a press conference in Tokyo.

To this end, the 19-person mission includes experts in water-related radiation and engineering issues, said Mr. Lentijo, who is also director of the agency’s nuclear fuel cycle and waste technology division.

“This will allow us to assess the situation in detail,” he told reporters, ahead of a meeting with the government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.

The mission will head to the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 25 years on Tuesday. The team will observe the decommissioning process through Friday and then return to Tokyo to hold meetings with Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority and other experts. The mission will report on its findings at a press conference on Dec. 4, according to a statement by the economy, trade and industry ministry.

Water containing radioactive materials has been leaking from storage tanks and drains at the plant into groundwater and the nearby ocean, raising concerns across the world that currents might spread radioactivity to faraway places. The amount of contaminated water requiring storage at the plant is constantly increasing since several hundred metric tons of ground water flowing into the site every day runs into the water cooling system for the melted reactor cores in units 1-3.

Tepco has also started removing fuel from the No. 4 reactor building and locating it at a more stable fuel storage pool nearby. The fuel removal, which started last Monday, marked the first step of cleanup process expected to take 30 to 40 years.

Comments (4 of 4)

Hey bonehead let's get something straight; this is not a decommissioning. A Decommissioning happens when all is in order and must I remind you that all we really have here is a radioactive, toxic mess that is rapidly enveloping the entire globe. Call it anything but that; how about a desperate ploy to save humanitys sorry ass. I would like to add that this sorry state of affairs was brought on by a certain imperialism whereby a very rich and powerful corporation, GE corrupted Japanese officials and built these six Atomic Plants with little regard for the rules of safety, either Nuclear, Civil, Mechanical, or for that matter Electrical. One can see quite readily from the mess they left us that these units were little more than boxboard cinderblock shacks. Our government needs to lean on GE's executives to make them start to shoulder more of the burden here. I believe that the UN has a responsibility to declare a WORLD EMERGENCY and ask all nations especially China, Russia, and the US to contribute more resources to this dire emergency.

2:59 am November 27, 2013

Hiroshi Suzuki wrote:

Fukushima nuclear disaster causes cancer and birth defects in US newborns – epidemiologist.
Fukushima nuclear meltdown causes thyroid condition in California babies.
26 November 2013 Voice of Russia
After the disaster at Fukushima, little attention was paid to how the radiation leaks can affect the health of children who live in the US. The Radiation and Public Health Project research group speaks about the study that showed that kids born after 2010 have some 26% percent higher risks to have cancer and birth defects. But the US keep silent on the problem.
American scientists believe that the Fukushima nuclear fallout has impacted the health of babies born in California around the time of the Japanese power plant disaster. An upcoming review has revealed an increase in the number of newborns with congenital hypothyroidism, a rare but serious condition normally affecting about one child in 2,000.

12:34 am November 26, 2013

gkam wrote:

I am a former Senior Engineer for what was the largest non-governmental power company on Earth. Before that I tested the safety systems of these same GE Mark I & II BWR's.

They are UNSAFE!!

Fukushima is the end of nuclear power, and perhaps much of North America. The ignorant public has NO IDEA what is going on there. They listen to the TEPCO lies like they fell for "WMD!".

Go to Global Research or other sites to get information.

9:02 pm November 25, 2013

Hiroshi Suzuki wrote:

110,000 Bq/Kg of Cs-134/137 from spotbelly rockfish of Fukushima plant port
November 24th, 2013 Fukushima Diary
110,000 Bq/Kg of Cs-134/137 was measured from spotbelly rockfish of Fukushima plant port. This is 1,100 times higher even than the safety limit.
Cs-134 : 34,000 Bq/Kg
Cs-137 : 76,000 Bq/Kg
101,000 Bq/kg of Cs-134/137 was also measured from marbled rockfish collected. This sample was from the port too.
Radiation level of marine products is still significantly high.

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